The present invention relates to a winch assembly of the type employable in logging or towing applications and more particularly relates to a cable drum mounting and drive connection of such an assembly.
Winches available for use with logging vehicles and the like normally include one or more clutches embodied in the drive trains of the winches and selectively operable to disconnect the drive input shaft from a cable drum of the winch so as to establish a free spool condition. Heretofore, these winches have not been entirely satisfactory since in some constructions a considerable portion of the drive train remains connected to the drum during the free spool condition and thus creates an undesirable drag on free drum movement and in other constructions reaction forces from the clutch for disconnecting the drum from the power train are transferred to the drum and again result in an undesirable drag force being imposed on the drum.